The experiences
Arriving in Lyon around 6pm from the Swiss alps, I was ready to be disappointed for my one night in Lyon simply because it wasn't the alps. I was so pleasantly surprised though. Lyon was a big fun city, not as historic as Paris but their reputation as a gastronomic capital of Europe is not overestimated. I didn't leave the hostel after arriving. I just ate the dinner they sold (cheese and meats and breads, quiches and salad, and of course cake and ice cream, and wine) and the breakfast and jumped on a train right away to make it to the airport on time. I don't even think I took a picture.
I hope I get to go back there some day, it was definitely a city most people weren't expecting to like as much as they did from talking to those at the hostel and from checking my own brain :). Could be that I'm just a little burned out on the visiting attractions thing...so Paris...here we come.
For Christmas and Mothers day and her birthday I flew my mom out to meet me in Paris. The last time she left the US was in the 80s to go to Germany/Austria/Switzerland. So this was a bit of a stretch and with the health issues she's experienced lately we knew it would be a tough go. I waited outside the arrivals gate for her to come out. They were delayed a bit but it was taking a long time, and when she finally came out she confessed she was looking for me before she exited the arrivals area. Seasoned traveler, meet the novice.
Both tired, we collapsed in the lovely Marriott Ambassador near the Opera House (another use for frequent traveler points and Marriott always takes care of you, very well) for a while and then set out on a walking tour of Montmartre. Turns out there is some hefty construction in Paris at the moment, some metros don't stop in the city and as I discovered later, entire lines are avoiding the city. This made figuring out routes very difficult and is the best advertisement for the public buses I can think of. So we wandered through the least desirable arrondissment (read: neighborhood) which actually felt a little worse than the suburbs Anna and I got lost in back in
2008. Overall, not the worst thing at all except it did mean having to walk more and mom doesn't have much luck with over exertion due to her health. She kept making a joke that I was trying to kill her.
Eventually we made it to the Sacre Cour and the wonderful sights of Montmartre and I think she was very pleased. This was a section of the city we had to cut from the short trip I took many years ago so I was glad to see it.
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| We made it, both alive! |
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| This might be one of my favorite churches. |
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| Mom made me take a photo of the interior, even though it said no photos. Then she told me I was going to hell. |
Next we tried to go to the Louvre on Bastille Day, supposedly a free day, but this year it was closed. We sat in the Tuilleries Gardens just outside it for a bit, enjoying the people watching and sculpture, then we made it back to the hotel, and watched the Eiffel fireworks from the hotel window. We'd intended to go down to the tower but the concierge scared us with her widening eyes and said "too crowded."
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| You can see the Orsay from the gardens, but that's closed too |
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| Parisians can really put on a good fireworks display |
With all the walking and public transit being out, we opted to do a bus tour the following day. We stopped at Notre Dame, the Opera House, and Eiffel tower before our reservation at the Louvre.
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| Just happened to be a concert going on... |
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| Singing along to the one song on the audio of the tour bus that we liked. |
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| It was a pretty warm day again... |
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| Opera House |
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| For scale--and we didn't spot the phantom, in case you were wondering |
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| Winged Victory is my favorite |
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| The pyramid from below |
After that whirlwind day in the heat, we collapsed again. The plan for Thursday was Versailles early but mom wasn't feeling up to it and I like sleeping if I can, so I went alone in the afternoon. It was an unbearably hot day and I did a lot of walking out there because it is crazy big. I think I saw the main things in about 4 hours, but had mom been there we probably would have rented a golf cart and seen a lot more of the grounds than I could on foot. I would have rented a cart just for me, but I didn't see anyone else doing that so I felt guilty taking a cart just for me. Rent a bike? Didn't seem efficient to come back to the starting point. All stupid excuses.
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| Gates of Versailles |
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| I actually like Ludwig's hall of mirrors better |
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| Such cool patterns and colors in this place. |
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| Next time I'm renting a boat |
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| Sadly fountains are only turned on on specific days |
When I attempted to get back to the hotel via train I discovered the major construction on RER C and that I couldn't get back quickly so it was just close enough for me to change out of the sweat soaked clothes and grab a cab to the Eiffel tower to catch the last cruise of the night on the Seine with mom. A very nice and relaxing way to spend the evening. So many people on the banks waving at us and having a nice night themselves.
Friday we headed to Normandy to see Mont St Michel. This town is famous for the tides that turn the abbey into an island depending on the time of day. After a whole day of travel to get out there, I convinced mom to go see the abbey at night. We just kept climbing and climbing till we got to the entrance at which time we discovered they decorated the abbey for a show they call The Secrets of the Abbey at night. For me, this is super cool, for mom, not so much. She doesn't like creepy, not that I do either, but after so many churches over the last several months, this was something different and entertaining and the setting is absolutely perfect.
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| Mont St Michel at sunset |
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| The creepiness begins |
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| There's the beak of the bird... |
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| Great lighting job, it fades to black and back up every 5 seconds with mood music |
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| Midnight from afar |
We slept in the next day so our planned trip to Omaha beach didn't work out so well. We instead walked around town, enjoyed the birthplace of Crepes (Normandy) and caught a bus to a train to a cab to another train to get to Venice by Sunday morning. I really wish there were a reasonably priced flight that fit our itinerary.
The lessons
- If you read that old post from 2008, you'll know that I did not like Paris the first time around. I only planned to visit new places on this trip but this is an exception because I really wanted to give it another try and I think I like Paris now.
- Book early for cheap tickets and so you can get a seat on the flight you want. Nightmares of the overnight trains are real and I'll mention them next time.
- When you're burnt out, take it easy.
- When there is an enormous free breakfast and dinner, you take advantage. Deliciousness.
- Mom brought a lot of new things with her that I ordered to help with the trip, the winner here is the water bag that fits in backpacks complete with hose and mouthpiece. I can now carry 2L of water on my back that stays cool and I don't have to hold anything!
- Again, Rick Steves saves you some Euro by offering free walking tours via his audio app.
Interesting
- Overall Americans are the only ones I'm finding who really eat a full heavy breakfast. Places even call it the "american breakfast." Eggs are more popular at lunch in France, and the pastry and coffee everywhere else is standard issue breakfast complete.
- Phantom of the Opera supposedly takes place in the Paris Opera House
- The Louvre pyramids actually have 672 panes of glass not 666 as Dan Brown wrote.
- Louis XIV really had it figured out when he moved everyone out from Paris (housed in the palace the Louvre now occupies) to Versailles so he could keep control of everything in the government.
- Looking for something Parisians love about America? Just talk about New York. They have New York envy, everyone loves it.
